i feel like i'm performing essentially the same exercises over and over, except for some very minor variations like grip type and hand spread. should i completely change my back routine, or am i on the right track to building a solid back? is there another exercise i should include in my routine??

i also do chest on back day, so i do a total of 6 exercises for back/chest days which leaves me feeling tired and sore for the next two days!

That all looks fine but if you're bored you should mix it up. I don't do any of those exercises and I think my back looks fine.

Try doing cleans and snatches or get on an erg and row 1-5k meters at a good clip. You can go on YouTube and get some basic instruction on form since you want to be careful with your back. Those can be really nasty injuries.

Get chest day out of your back day unless you're splitting your workout (morning/night) and taking gargantuan protein infusions in between. Your back should be one leg of a three-legged (as in 3-day) workout cycle, since it's nearly a third of all of your major muscle groups by mass.

Yeah, I wouldn't mix large muscle groups together. Keep back, chest, and legs on separate days. It's ok to mix and match the smaller muscle groups though. I like to do back and biceps one day, then chest and triceps the other. These pairs are complimentary and many compound workouts utilize both.

A good back day would include pull ups for warm up, seated cable row, lat pulldowns, cleans, rear flies, etc. And also many shoulder workouts can enhance the look of your back, even though they are not technically part of your back.

I disagree with the idea of not mixing muscle groups. Muscles are meant to work together. How often are you really flat on your back pushing a heavy weight off yourself (mind out of the gutters men)? Multi-modal exercises show great results. Sure it might be harder but isn't that kinda the point? You're supposed to be doing work. Use your back and shoulder muscles together with your legs (i.e., a thruster or clean & jerk). That's how you'd lift something heavy.

imasrxd saidSure it might be harder but isn't that kinda the point? You're supposed to be doing work.

All work and no (nutrition, rest and) play make Jack a very overworked and underbuilt boy.

Yes, muscles work with and against each other, but it didn't sound like he was working on improving his handstands. It sounded like he was wanting to improve his back.

You have a great physique for your type: tall, lean. The workout you describe should probably maintain that. However, at two inches less than you and nearly 20 pounds more than you, I can assure you, building my back one day and chest another creates no "working with" problems for my body. If anything, back builds up faster, as well as chest. My back muscles aren't competing directly with my chest muscles for nutrition (at least for the first 24 hours).

imasrxd saidI disagree with the idea of not mixing muscle groups. Muscles are meant to work together. How often are you really flat on your back pushing a heavy weight off yourself (mind out of the gutters men)?

Gutter or not, if someone's sexual activities involve such an activity, they should train to do it with ease.

That's the beauty of exercise. It can be tailored to each person's individual needs.

imasrxd saidI disagree with the idea of not mixing muscle groups. Muscles are meant to work together. How often are you really flat on your back pushing a heavy weight off yourself (mind out of the gutters men)? Multi-modal exercises show great results. Sure it might be harder but isn't that kinda the point? You're supposed to be doing work. Use your back and shoulder muscles together with your legs (i.e., a thruster or clean & jerk). That's how you'd lift something heavy.

No, I totally agree that exercises that use all of most of your body are more effective. I'm a big fan of functional strength vs. "bodybuilding" strength myself. But on back day, there's no reason why you can't throw in clean & jerk (which I did mention by the way) while keeping the day's focus on back. If someone is trying to isolate and catch up on a few particular area, they wouldn't go wrong doing it this way until they've reached the next level. Especially if that area is acting as a bottleneck for the more advanced stuff.

aren't cleans and snatches(???) full body exercises? is there one in particular that targets the back?

mickeytopogigGet chest day out of your back day unless you're splitting your workout (morning/night) and taking gargantuan protein infusions in between. Your back should be one leg of a three-legged (as in 3-day) workout cycle, since it's nearly a third of all of your major muscle groups by mass.

i am not splitting my workout. and i don't understand what you mean by three legged workout cycle?? i do deadlifts on monday, back tuesday, and shoulders wednesday, so is that what you mean by a three day workout cycle? i'm hitting different portions of the back three days out of the week.

aren't pullups and chinups the same thing?? and i already do one arm DB rows on back day, and shoulder flyes and traps on shoulder day. should i throw them all in to my back day?? that seems like quite the undertaking!

Andrew86Yeah, I wouldn't mix large muscle groups together. Keep back, chest, and legs on separate days. It's ok to mix and match the smaller muscle groups though. I like to do back and biceps one day, then chest and triceps the other. These pairs are complimentary and many compound workouts utilize both.

i don't understand how people can do back and biceps together. my biceps are terribly fatigued by the time i'm done with my back. i can't imagine doing biceps after back! i'll end up killing myself! :O

should i then have a separate back and chest day?? how will i fit it into my workout schedule though??

And since you asked, a pull-up is with your palms facing away. A chin-up is with your palms facing towards you. Pull-ups are the more well rounded of the two, where chin ups put more emphasis on the biceps.

And since you asked, a pull-up is with your palms facing away. A chin-up is with your palms facing towards you. Pull-ups are the more well rounded of the two, where chin ups put more emphasis on the biceps.

i have tried doing back/biceps and chest/triceps but it went terrible for me. my arms were just too fatigued to do any isolation exercises. i would need to lower the weight for biceps, triceps like you said, but to me that seems counter productive??

other than doing back/chest together, is there something fundamentally wrong w/ my routine?

and i actually do pullups, so i'm glad to hear it is the better exercise to do.

That split you provided seems great. Again, everyone is different. Give it a shot for 5-6 weeks, and then fine-tune it at the end of that time if necessary. Be consistent, but work in minor variations each day (different hand positions, incline, weights and reps, etc.).

All you need is 2 sets of seated rows with the grip of palms pointing down similar to a bent over row and 2 sets of lat pull downs. Do that for 10 reps, three days a week with an increase of 5% after each day. So for example it would be best to do Monday, Wednesday, Friday. You need a day break afterwards since the myosatellite cells need about 48 hours to do their job. The problem with most people when they want to build size is that after two reps with good weight, the muscle tissue is torn and ready to grow. Anything above 2 sets the muscle will just burn calories, and later eat it's self to produce energy. Read up some academic journals from time to time guys, stop going to bodybuilding.com, and sites who aim to make a profit.